Iran says Hezbollah will launch “in-depth strike” against Israel

Iran stated today that its ally, Hezbollah, will launch an “in-depth strike” and will “not limit itself to military targets” in response to the assassination of the Lebanese Islamist organisation’s military commander, Fuad Shukr, on Tuesday near Beirut.

Following this attack, “we expect Hezbollah to choose more targets and launch an in-depth strike into Israel,” Iran’s delegation to the United Nations said today, according to the official news agency IRNA.

“Hezbollah and the (Israeli) regime had observed certain lines that the attack on Tuesday night crossed,” the Iranian delegation stated. Consequently, the Lebanese organization “will not limit its response to military targets,” they added.

“You do not know what red line you crossed. We have entered a new phase in all areas,” Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military launched an airstrike against a building in a suburb of Beirut, killing Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander and advisor to the movement’s Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah.

American forces are being strengthened in the region.

Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire since last October, shortly after Tel Aviv’s war in Gaza began.

“You do not know what red line you crossed. We have entered a new phase in all areas,” Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah reiterated to Israel during Fuad Shukr’s funeral.

The US, having decided to offer a protective shield to Israel following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the heart of Iran, is concentrating its fleet in the region and has increased its military presence there with new assets.